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In a decision that baffled Malaysians, the dissolution of the Parliament and the day of the 15th General Election fell precisely within the monsoon season despite expert warnings of early monsoon. Within the week leading up to the election, floods in seven states, namely Pahang, Johor, Penang, Kelantan, Selangor, Malacca, and Kedah, displaced over 3000 victims to 32 evacuation centres, according to the Department of Social Welfare. Issuing warnings of thunderstorms and flash floods in over 12 states, METMalaysia had also raised alerts of large-scale floods in late November, where the nation must brace itself beforehand. 

At this point, Malaysians are not strangers to floods.

Every year without fail, the news covers monstrous flash floods and monsoon floods in different regions that afflict citizens and cause billions of ringgit in losses. Historically, severe floods have impacted Malaysia as far back as 1926. Two recent flood crises that befell the nation in 2014 and 2021 involved death tolls and persistent trauma among the affected communities years after. Bleak updates during these times reported bewildered victims desperately calling for rescue operations from rooftops and the despondent restoration in the aftermath drenched in sludge and debris. Other repercussions that demoralised the communities and individuals involved property and farmland destruction, water-borne diseases, a rise in anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the high cost of flood recovery to repair infrastructure and replace damaged inventory. For most victims, homes, livelihoods, and properties, like hope, were lost with the currents. Rebuilding life after life before it shatters each year again should not be a reality for any Malaysian citizen.

As in any country, it is logically sound to place belief in the government to craft a plan to safeguard the citizens’ lives and properties after a century of known floods. The national flood response mainly concentrates on early preparation and post-disaster recovery. These focuses employ strategies including but not limited to flood forecast and warning models, river deepening, bund construction, pre-evacuation and rescue operations, as well as relief and aid for victims. While these focuses increase the rainfall threshold (the maximum rainfall capacity before floods occur) and extend a critical period to ensure lives are safeguarded, are there no further aspirations to turn floods into a distant history?

Perhaps. 

A RM15 billion allocation for flood mitigation projects was recently announced in the Budget 2023 roll-out, exclusive of two off-budget flood barrier projects in Kelantan. Further construction of a flood wall and bunds scheduled in the Sungai Golok Integrated River Basin Development Project, one of the recipients of the off-budget allocation, is targeted to bring relief to over 40,000 residents living in the riverside region. There is a tiny flicker of hope that these projects are the start of water engineering marvels such as the Netherlands’s Delta Works or the Marina Barrage.

From this standpoint, the glamorous ambitions solve the puzzle of calamity. Still, past crises proved that cracks can form in the nation’s established flood response without proper governance and prescient planning. In July 2022, Taman Sri Muda residents sued the government and nine other parties due to many aspects compounding their tragic experience in the massive flood last year, citing insufficient infrastructure to withhold large volumes of rainwater and delays in opening the sluice gates, among other reasons. Ten months after the Prime Minister’s announcement of flood relief in January, residents of Kampung Sungai Serai claimed that they received no answer from the authorities regarding the promised aid for housing repair after submitting their documents, while communities in other towns plead for local councils’ to consummate their pledges to deepen nearby rivers and build a flood wall. 

At the very least, can we expect Malaysia to stay afloat?

It is hard to say, but it will only get worse from here. Malaysians cannot afford to be desensitised to the escalating magnitude awaiting us in the future. With uncontrolled development and accelerating climate change distorting the predictability of floods, management agencies and the government must get their act together and work cohesively with flood experts to craft a comprehensive flood mitigation blueprint to protect against waves of unprecedented strength. The calm before the storm is reserved for the well-prepared, and someone arrogantly believes that we are.

References:

1. Kelantan, Perak antara tujuh negeri dilanda banjir | Astro Awani 
2. MetMalaysia ramal banjir besar penghujung November 
3. Experts expect rise in anxiety, PTSD due to floods in Malaysia | The Straits Times
4. ‘Almost everything we own is gone’: Malaysia flood victims rue damage to property, valuables – CNA  
5. Guna pakai strategi ‘berundur’ atasi impak banjir jangka panjang 
6. MANAGING THE FLOOD PROBLEM IN MALAYSIA 1. Background Malaysia has an equatorial climate with constant high temperatures and a h 
7. Tok Pa: Govt approves over RM1.5b allocation to tackle Kelantan flood problems | Malay Mail 
8. Budget 2023: RM15b flood mitigation plan until 2030 in facing climate change | Malay Mail 
9. When the water rises: A Malaysian climate change story | Kini News Lab 
10. Mangsa banjir dakwa belum terima bantuan baik pulih rumah – Sinar Harian 
11. Group of Taman Sri Muda residents sue Putrajaya, nine others for RM3.7m over massive Dec 2021 floods | Malay Mail 
12. PRU-15: Mana janji tembok penghadang banjir ? 
13. ‘Tolonglah selesaikan kemelut banjir kilat’ – Sinar Harian 
14. Malaysia development throws open nature’s flood gates